2015 Super Series Finals: Will it be Super Friday for Saina Nehwal?

Saina Nehwal is the only Women Singles player to have reached 5 semifinals of BWF Super Series Finals. Since 2008, when the year end BWF World Superseries Finals started for the top 8 ranked players/pairs of the year, Saina has reached the final once, and semifinal on 5 occasions, including the last year. Placed 2nd, now she needs not only a win but some luck too to reach her 6th semifinal as she plays the defending champion in her last match of Group B.

Saina Nehwal will play Tai Tzu-ying (Taipei) who is the defending champion and has reached consecutive finals in 2013 and 2014. This year, she has already lost both the matches, while Saina has won one and lost one.

Saina and Tai Tzu Ying have played 10 matches against each other, both winning 5 matches each. Ying has won their last three matches.

From Group A, only Nozomi Okuhara (Japan) has won both the matches, as she has defeated Saina and Tai Tzu-ying. Carolina Marin has defeated Tzu Ying but lost to Saina. In the last match of the group on Friday, Okuhara plays Marin first, followed by the game between Saina and Tzu Ying.

Saina Nehwal is in a must win situation. If Carolina loses to Okuhara, there is no luck required then. But, if Carolina wins, then Saina must win by a margin that will take her ahead of either Carolina or Okuhara, as then all three would have won 2 matches each and top 2 will be decided by games and points won.

If Saina and Carolina both lose, then there will be a three-way tie for 2nd place between them and Tzu Ying. Again the 2nd place will go the one who has the best proportion of games and points won in their three group matches played.